Since I’m here, I was rereading Ed Shenk’s Fly Rod Trouting and longing for the days when PA limestone creeks used to hold monster browns. While I’m familiar with pretty much everything in the book, has anyone ever used Skaters? Apparently, Ed Shenk swears by them during mid-summer.
Skaters are facinating to say the least.
Ed Hewett was an advocate, I have some of his skater flies which were given to me by Vince Marinaro. I had to promise to fish at least one - I have, it caught fish, and I’ve not lost it yet.
They are not ‘soft hackle’ flies and are fished on the surface and ‘skittered’ or allowed to blow around in a wind.
For more, including the tying instructions,
(not for beginners) is here: [url=http://www.flyanglersonline.com/features/oldflies/part8.html:f9525]http://www.flyanglersonline.com/features/oldflies/part8.html[/url:f9525]
LadyFisher, Publisher of
FAOL
How do they sit on the water? Hook down? Or do they manage to stay up completely on the hackle?
Looks like something I could dapple over the willows and dance across trout holding pools.
Paul H.
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“A dry fly on the rise is the beauty mark of a lovely river.”
I’ve actually never even seen one. From what I understand, they “skate” across the water on stiff hackles, hook down. Its the perfect, and sometimes only, option for hot summer fishing in still pools.
Letort is correct, but read the section of the Old Flies article after the instructions by Vince. The fishing instructions are there.
LadyFisher, Publisher of
FAOL
Well believe it or not when I began tying hackle I tied something like the skater only that in white and brown colors. I thought that tying a just the hackle on the shank it will be easier to learn than tying a full fly. I kept it on the box just as a reminder to improve my skills.
After a great afternoon on a small pound I decided to try something really crazy. I tied the white “thing” to the end of a 5x tippet and to my surprise: casted, let it still, nothing happened, some movement with the line, nothing, thought it a lost case (hey, I was just trying something crazy, it was bound to happen. No worries.) so I began to retreive the line, it was moving FAST and just then: Boom a nice 15 inches rainbow!! she hooked herself after the ferociuos attack.
All the day was about little trouts rising to black e-z nymphs fished emerging, strikes were triggered when the fly was just below the film. The white thing was the only dry action I saw that day.
I never used the fly again as it was lost to the last trout of the day and never came to tying another one 'cause I thought it was just one of those days when a “bare hook” will do, never came back to that pound neither. I am rushing to the bench to tie a whole bunch now!!
Dave
[This message has been edited by dphotoco (edited 19 May 2005).]
The FAOL link above gives some great advice concerning the skater. In addition to what you will find there, I offer the following:
The skater is worth a try when you encounter seemingly perfect dry fly conditions, but no hatch is present. It can be fished with a longer line, and twiched along like a streamer, except that it stays on the surface. I think a moderate current helps a bit. You will see more fish than you catch. They tend to chase it and slash at it as often as they actually take it.
The big problem today is, where do you get long fibered DF hackle to tie such a fly?
Tom,
I don’t know about restrictions or even bans to cock fights up there in the states, we have none here in the 3rd world. Some really well raised fighting cocks from good breeds are a good source of long barbuled hackle, stiff enough to tie the skater just that it won’t stay stiff for too long, a day of fishing or two at most. But still they cut the feathers from the necks, and sometimes saddles, of the birds and throw them away as garbage so if you manage to find some of this cocks you will have the feathers for free. I have been told that in Louisiana there are still some cock fights, May be it can be worked out, I don’t know.
Dave
Boy have you got that right JC. Back when, it was harder than heck to find hackle to tie those flies as well as the Art Flicks Variants. It is a breeze now.
I use to have one fellow that had a standing order for Spiders. When ever I got the hackle to tie some up for him he would take as many as I had hackle for. And he didn’t care what color they were either.
The best trick for tying Skaters that I know of is using Silk thread so you can slide the feathers together with ease. Using the wrong thread or wax is a no no when tying these flies in my view. Ron
dphotoco
In the philippines the losing cock winds up in the winning cock owner’s kettle.
In regards to utilizing the feathers…the
Filipinos have very inventive ways to take
fish but fly fishing isn’t one of them. 
To bad…know they’d enjoy it.
Regards
nam
[This message has been edited by namekagon (edited 19 May 2005).]
Guys - I live in New Jersey. Cock fighting is illegal. I look like a big Irish cop. No one is going to invite me to a cock fight. Ron, Jim, what the heck are you talking about? Where are these feathers available?
Tom:
Hey, send me an email, I may be able to send you some feathers. Right now I’ve only some webby ones left, but I’m heading to a country side town the following week and I know I will come arround some cock fisghts and then some feathers.
thx Ron for the tricks!! So sorry JC some secrets just don’t stay like that forever. *-)
Dave
JC sorry about that I didn’t know it was a secret ? 
I never had the privilege of meeting Mr. Marinaro I always will regret not having done so.
I did meet Chrlie Fox and he signed one of his books for me.
It is a shame what the state of PA has let happen to the such a great little stream as the Letort. You would think they could in someway have protected it better? Very sad.
Tom - Just ask any of the good hackle growers out there and they will be able to furnish you with the proper feathers. Companys like Conranch, Whiting, Keough and several others know what you will need and can furnish them for you. Ron
[This message has been edited by RonMT (edited 20 May 2005).]
Ron,
Believe it or not, the Letort is on its way back. I used to walk the banks as a kid, which was only 20 years ago, but I still remember what a wonderful place it was. Although development and corporate parking lots have done much to nearly ruin the Letort forever, the people of Carlisle have finally started to realize what a backyard treasure they have. Although they are small, browns are pretty plentiful this year. There are still some monsters, but they are far more wise than people like me. Whats nice is that people like me are the only people who fish the Letort anymore. Its totally deserted most days. I spend almost all day every Saturday and Sunday out there and most times, never see a soul. In a couple more years, knock on wood, the Letort will be worth a visit again.
LetortRun:
Like most places the Letort goes through its cycles. I’ve been fishing it regularly since the 70’s and the fishing hasn’t changed all that much. I?ve had great years and lousy years. In 2001 I had some of the best fishing of my life on the Letort catching several fish in the 18-20? range and one well over 20? on a Sulphur of all things. The last few years have been slower for me. The blame has been all over the place. A few years back everyone was saying that all the new housing was draining the aquifer and the stream levels were down as a result. The last three years there is water all over the place and the surrounding meadows are more flooded and filled with water than I have ever seen in my lifetime. One year I see weeds, the next I don?t; I can?t figure it out but I keep going back because the fish can?t either.
Mr. Fox himself told me that the construction of I-81 had some of the biggest impact on the stream and that was well before my time. Even the dreaded Home Depot hasn’t had as big an effect as most people thought, myself included. The fish kill of many moons ago had the biggest impact but the fish hung in there. After that fish kill the only place to fish was the Tragas Meadow where there still are some really nice fish if you are game enough to go there.
I think the problem most people have with the Letort is it?s a tough place to fish because of the lay of the land and the difficult fish. After reading all that?s been written about the place some people EXPECT to catch monster browns. It just doesn?t happen with that much regularity; it never did according to Charlie. The hatches were better way back when but that is the story in most places.
The other problem is that it lost most of its stewardship and TLC that it had while Charle, Vince and some of the regulars were still alive. When I used to fish there as a kid there were benches along the creek, stone walkways through the mud, screens to hide behind and observe fish; even a bridge over a small feeder creek. In the years since no one has kept those thing up so the place just looks run down. It?s a shame really, even the CVTU doesn?t seem to care as much as they used to despite their monumental efforts on the Home Depot front.
But in a way I like the fact that like you I can enjoy people free days along the banks and maybe its inhospitable nature is the reason why. Maybe we?ll bump into each other there sometime.